In a major jolt to the Himachal Pradesh government’s effort to have mega cement plants, the state high court has quashed the environmental clearance given to Grasim India’s proposed Rs 1,200-crore cement unit at Sundernagar in Mandi district.
The judgment was delivered by the HC’s ‘green bench’ yesterday on petitions filed by environmental activists and locals. The court also struck down a 2009 notification issued by the state government for acquiring land for the unit.
The judgment also questioned the overlooking of a wild life sanctuary located near the proposed cement plant.
The state government has sanctioned at least five major cement plants in the past five years.
